Royal Hampshire County Hospital

Royal Hampshire County Hospital
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Geography
Location	Winchester, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Organisation
Care system	Public NHS
Hospital type	District General
Affiliated university	University of Southampton
Services
Emergency department	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	950 (Trust - December 2015)[1]
History
Founded	1736
Links
Website	http://www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk
Lists	Hospitals in England

The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester is a District General Hospital serving much of central Hampshire. It is owned and run by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is commonly abbreviated to RHCH, or alternatively, Winchester Hospital as it is the only open NHS hospital in Winchester.^α

The independent regulator of health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission positively rates Winchester's hospital - it was rated as "good" overall in 2015.^[2]

History

The Hampshire County Hospital was founded in Winchester in 1736, but sites in the town centre proved problematic. By the mid-19th century drainage difficulties were so acute that relocation on higher ground was decided upon in 1861, albeit after much acrimonious debate. Florence Nightingale was an advocate of the scheme and advised on the site and building.

The eminent architect William Butterfield designed the new hospital, which opened in 1868 with sixteen in-patients and fourteen out-patients. Queen Victoria gave permission for the hospital to be 'Royal' and contributed to the appeal, which raised over £34,000 to finance the project.

Later additions to the site include the old Outpatients Department in 1927, Nightingale Wing in 1986, Brinton Wing in 1992, and the new treatment and diagnostic centre (Burrell Wing) in 2006.^[3] The site also includes the Education Centre (completed 2006), Florence Portal House (Gynaecology and Maternity) and a creche. Although adjacent to the RHCH site the Melbury Lodge psychiatric unit is not part of the Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust; it is operated by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. The Sexual Health clinic, although part of the hospital, is located off site further down Romsey Road opposite the former Hampshire Constabulary headquarters.

In 2006, Winchester and Eastleigh NHS had been pursuing Foundation Trust status and this resulted in major streamlining of hospital policies and procedures. Land was also been earmarked for sale to raise revenue for the trust; some plots were sold to outside (non-NHS) interests. This was done to allow most offices and clinics to be moved to the new Burrell Wing.

At about 4pm on 9 December 2011, a fire broke out in the MRI Scanner Room; destroying the MRI Scanner and one of two CT Scanners, as well as the control room for all the scanners. The A&E Department next door survived, but was closed overnight, opening only for minor injuries the following night for several days until CT Scanning facilities were made available.^[4]

In January 2012, the Basingstoke and North Hants Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust merged with the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust; forming a combined organisation henceforward called Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.^[5]

Wards

The hospital has a number of different wards:^[6]

• Anthony Letchworth ward - 20-bed gynaecology ward^[7]
• Bartlett Ward - orthopaedic trauma^[8]
• Clarke Ward - cardiology and endocrinology^[9]
• Clifton ward - 26-bed geriatric ward^[10]
• Freshfield ward - 26-bed geriatric ward^[11]
• Geoffrey Hammond ward - 35-bed antenatal and postnatal care ward^[12]
• Intensive Care Unit (ICU) - 10-bed unit which accommodates both Intensive care (level 3) and high dependency (level 2) patients^[13]
• Kemp Welch Ward - 23-bed general surgery ward with 3 single rooms.^[14]
• Labour Ward - with eight birthing rooms and two obstetric theaters.^[15]
• McGill Acute Medical Unit - 26-bed unit for assessing and treating emergency medical patients referred from their GP or A&E^[16]
• Mount Ward - pre-assessment unit^[17]
• Neonatal services - with two intensive care cots, two high dependency cots and eight special care cots.^[18]
• Nick Jonas ward - chemotherapy day unit
• Northbrook ward - Children and Young People's unit, including an outpatients area, Sophie's Place (short stay area) and an in-patient area.^[19]
• Shawford ward - 27-bed respiratory wards with both bays and single rooms^[20]
• Short Stay Surgical Unit (SSSU)
• St Cross ward - 16-bed planned major orthopaedic surgery ward with 12 bay beds and 4 single rooms^[21]
• Twyford ward - 24-bed Hyper Acute Stroke Unit^[22]
• Victoria ward - gastroenterology and endocrinology
• Wainwright ward - colorectal unit^[23]
• Wykeham ward

CQC evaluation

The Care Quality Commission rated RHCH as "good" overall in November 2015. The findings of the report are summarised in the table below:^[24]

Notes

^α as opposed to the nearby St Paul's Hospital (a former elderly rehabilitation unit which closed in January 1998)

See also

• List of hospitals in England

References

External links

• Winchester Hospital Radio

Coordinates: 51°03′43″N 1°19′48″W / 51.062°N 1.330°W / 51.062; -1.330